Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Reuters — Trump's new security advisor differs from him on Russia, other key issues

U.S. President Donald Trump has shown little patience for dissent, but that trait is likely to be tested by his new national security adviser, Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster.

McMaster is joining the White House staff with views on Russia, counterterrorism, strengthening the military and other major security issues that diverge not only from those of the Trump loyalists, but also from those the president himself has expressed.…

McMaster will not be alone, however. His prominent administration allies include Defense Secretary Jim Mattis; Marine General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee; as well as many of the soldiers who have served with him....

9 comments:

Agreed. Putin will end up as bad guy and the Cold War will creep back into style. The current European leadership is too stupid to stake out an independent foreign policy. It is up to the nationalist right to take power and break with Washington.

Btw, Canada will not meet the 2% military spending target. "Quality over quantity" and creative accounting will make sure of that.

My take is that many of the official cabinet are mere figureheads who exist only for PR purposes or to repay a campaign debt. The real policy makers are in the "kitchen cabinet" -- Bannon, Kushner, and Ivanka. Tillerson might be a true policymaker, too.

A good example of this is how Bannon recently told Germany that the EU was flawed and perhaps doomed, then a week later Pence went to Brussels and talked about "enduring" commitment to the EU. Who ya' gonna believe, the figurehead or the kitchen cabinet?